МИНИСТЕРСТВО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ И НАУКИ РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ

КОМИ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ ПЕДАГОГИЧЕСКИЙ ИНСТИТУТ

КАФЕДРА АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА

Е.В. Сердюк, И.П. Михайлова

Английский как второй иностранный язык Учебное пособие для студентов 4 курса

Сыктывкар 2009

ПЕЧАТАЕТСЯ ПО РЕШЕНИЮ РЕДАКЦИОННО-ИЗАТЕЛЬСКОГО СОВЕТА КОМИ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО ПЕДАГОГИЧЕСКОГО ИНСТИТУТА ОТ …

Рекомендовано к изданию заседанием кафедры английского языка КГПИ от 31.08.2009 г., протокол № 1.

Рецензент: Чупрова Н.В., ст. преподаватель кафедры английского языка КГПИ.

Михайлова И.П., Сердюк Е.В. Английский как второй иностранный язык. Учебное пособие для студентов IV курса. –2-ое изд. испр. и доп. Сыктывкар: Коми государственный педагогический институт, 2009. 99 с.

Данное учебное пособие представляет 2-ое издание – переработанное и дополненное. Оно предназначено для студентов IV курса факультета иностранных языков, изучающих английский как второй иностранный. Пособие включает темы, рекомендуемые программой 4 курса второго языка: Погода, Отдых и досуг, Путешествия, Болезни и их лечение, Достопримечательности Лондона, Москвы и Сыктывкара, Спорт в Англии и России.

Ко всем текстам предлагаются послетекстовые упражнения, а также куплеты-рифмовки на употребление времен английского глагола.

© Михайлова И.П., Сердюк Е.В., 2009

© Коми государственный педагогический институт, 2009

Seasons and Weather

Exercise 1.

Seasons and Weather

The year is divided into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. In spring nature awakens from her long winter sleep. The trees are filled with new life, the earth is warmed by the rays of the sun, and the weather gets gradually milder. The fields and the meadows are covered with fresh green grass. The woods and forests are filled with the songs of the birds. The sky is blue and cloudless. At night, millions of stars shine in the darkness.

When summer comes the weather gets warmer still and sometimes it’s very hot. It’s the farmer’s busy season – he works in his fields from morning till night. The grass must be cut and the hay must be made, while the dry weather lasts. Sometimes the skies are overcast with heavy clouds. There are storms with thunder, lightning and hail.

Autumn brings with it the harvest-time, when the crops are gathered in and the fruit is picked in the orchards. The days get shorter and the nights longer. The woods turn yellow and brown, leaves begin to fall from the trees, and the ground is covered with them. The skies are grey, and very often it rains.

When winter comes, we are obliged to spend more time indoors because out-of-doors it’s cold. We may get fog, sleet and frost. Ponds, lakes, rivers and streams are frozen, and the roads are sometimes covered with slippery ice or deep snow. The trees are bare. Bitter north winds have stripped them of all their leaves.

Exercise 2.

Autumn

Autumn comes after summer. Many people consider autumn to be the most beautiful season of the year. Indeed, autumn is wonderful at the beginning when it is still warm and the trees are getting yellow, brown and red. The trees are losing their leaves and the ground is simply a carpet of many colours. It is the time of harvest and golden leaves; it is the time when nature is quiet and very attractive. Indian summer as we call it.

Little by little the days become shorter. It is the time when nature fades away and cold weather sets in. Very often grey heavy clouds cover the sky bringing rain with them. In October it rains so hard that an umbrella and a rain-coat are necessary if we don’t want to get wet through. Many people then catch a cold and must go to bed. Birds leave for warm countries.

November is the month of fog and rain. It often drizzles for hours. Sometimes it even snows. It gets rather windy and dark clouds appear in the sky. Of course, it is not as cold as in winter yet, but we know that winter is coming. That is why animals in the forests put on their winter clothes and people do the same. In such weather it is more pleasant to stay at home than to be outside. Not by chance people consider this is the worst time of the year and nobody can say he likes it.

Exercise 3.

Winter

Winter has come. The sky is dark, a cold wind is blowing, which drives the heavy clouds across the sky. It is snowing hard. Large flakes of snow are falling, covering the ground, the roofs and the trees with a vast white sheet. Going out in such weather is not pleasant and old people prefer to stay at home. But children enjoy being out of doors.

Look at the children in the picture. They are having a wonderful time. Some of them are making a snow man, others are throwing snowballs. A little boy has brought his sledge and is going tobogganing. Soon the frost will become more severe. The rivers and lakes will freeze over. There will be a lot of snow in the woods. Children and grown-ups will enjoy themselves skating on the ice and skiing in the woods. Russians are very fond of frosty sunny weather when the temperature is not more than 15 degrees of frost. But sometimes the frost is severe, about 25-30° below zero. When it is as cold as that, it is really very unpleasant.

And what is the weather like in England in winter? It is not so cold as in Russia. The temperature seldom falls below 3-4 degrees. The usual temperature is about zero. The landscape doesn’t change very much in winter. The grass remains green all the year round. The air is frequently damp and foggy. It often rains and it seldom snows. The snow, usually, melts very quickly.

Exercise 4.

Spring

Spring comes at the end of March and brings sunshine and warm winds. Sometimes it still snows but the snow does not remain long. During the day the snow is melting in the warm sun, but sometimes at night it freezes. Icicles hang everywhere. In the streets we can see a lot of merry streams and children like to splash in the water. Ponds, rivers and lakes free themselves from ice and the water is high in them. The trees are in full bud and very soon the trees begin to burst into leaf *. Everywhere the first spring flowers and fresh green grass appear. Migratory birds return from warm countries and everywhere we can hear their merry songs. Sometimes it rains, but the spring rain is so warm and so pleasant. In April rain and sunshine are both together and after black clouds we always have clear weather. In May we usually have thunder-storms that are the harbingers of real coming of spring. Everything is so fresh and beautiful and even people look younger.

• = Everything is in bloom. = The trees are putting out their leaves and there are buds everywhere.

Exercise 5.

Summer

Summer is the warmest season of the year. It begins in June and ends in August. In summer we have the longest days and the shortest nights. The longest day of the year is the 22^nd of June. The sun shines brightly. Very often there is no wind and there are no clouds in the sky. But sometimes when the sky is overcast with heavy clouds we may have thunder, lightning and even hail. But usually the rain is warm and does not last long. Quite often after a warm rain we may see a beautiful rainbow in the sky.

Most people have their holidays in summer and spend a lot of time in the fresh air. It is not pleasant to stay in town in summer and many people leave town for the sea and bathe on a hot day in cool water, lie in the sun and do outdoor sports and games.

Summer is the farmer’s busy season.

Exercise 6.

What types of weather are bad and good for doing these things?

Example: Skiing bad: mild weather which makes the snow melt; good: cold, clear days.

1. Planting flowers in a garden

2. Having an evening barbecue

3. Going out in a small sailing boat

4. A day of sightseeing in a big city

5. Camping out in a tent

6. Looking at ships through binoculars

Don’t knock the weather: nine-tenths of the people couldn’t start a conversation if it didn’t change once in a while.

Kin Hubbard

Не обижайтесь на погоду: девять из десяти людей не смогли бы начать разговор, если бы погода периодически не менялась.

Кин Хаббард

Exercise 7.

Olaf: Why do English people so often say something about the weather when they begin a conversation with stran­gers?

Mr. Green: Well, of course, in England the weather's always changing. We never know what to expect. If you were in a country where the weather doesn't change much, it would be difficult to say much about it. But you asked why we talk about the weather to strangers. That's an interesting question. It's probably because the weather's a subject it's quite safe to talk about. It's а way of reaching agreement. I begin by saying, "A cold morning, isn't it?" The other man says, "It certainly is". I say, "It's been cold all week", and the other man says, "Yes, we're having a very cold spring". So far we've agreed about everything. Perhaps I make a remark about something I've seen in the newspaper I say, perhaps, "I see the Italians have beaten us at football again". The other man says, ' "Yes, seven-nil this time". Well, when we've exchanged remarks on subjects of this kind, on which there can be no disagreement, we're beginning to feel friendly. If we'd started with subjects on which disagreement was possible, politics, for example, we might not have become friendly. Language isn't used only for giving or asking for facts.

Mrs. Green: Remarks about the weather are a safe way of opening communicati­on with a stranger. When I go abroad, to a country where I can't speak the language, I always try to learn a few phrases, like "Good morning", "Good afternoon", "Isn't it a nice day", "Please" and "Thank you". People are suspicious of strangers who are completely silent.

Mr. Green: Oh, yes. These words are certainly useful when you come to this country.

(A.S. Hornby. Oxford Progressive English for Adult Learners)

Exercise 8.